Pleistocene and Holocene glacier fluctuations upon the Kamchatka Peninsula

Rapid glacial retreat on the Kamchatka Peninsula during the early 21st century

“…Although there is evidence that some glaciers were covered by tephra as a result of these eruptions, there is no evidence to suggest that this had a discernible influence on glacier fluctuations during the period of observation. This likely reflects the longer response time of glaciers to tephra deposition, since a number of Kamchatka's glaciers are known to have responded to volcanic ash cover over longer time periods (see Barr and Solomina, 2014). It is also apparent, from the present study, that debris-covered glaciers on the peninsula are typically less responsive to external forcing, since they lose less surface area (both in absolute and, particularly, relative terms) than non-debris-covered examples.…”

“…Assuming linear trends, this indicates an area-loss rate of ∼ 0.24-0.29 % a −1 between 1950 and 2000 and a notable acceleration to ∼ 1.76 % a −1 since 2000. The reduction in glacier area during the late 20th century coincides with negative trends in glacier mass balance on the peninsula (see Barr and Solomina, 2014). Unfortunately, since 2000, mass balance data have not been collected for Kamchatka's glaciers, and it is not possible to assess whether accelerated mass loss over the early 21st century has coincided with the accelerated glacier shrinkage identified here.…”

“…For example, Bilchenok glacier (56.100 • N, 160.482 • E) in the Klyuchevskaya volcanic group is known to have surged ∼ 2 km in 1959/1960 and again in 1982/84 (Muraviev et al, 2012). In this example, surging appears unrelated to climate and is likely driven by the strengthening of seismic activity at Ushkovsky Volcano (56.069 • N, 160.467 • E), upon which the glacier sits (Muraviev et al, 2012 Barr and Solomina, 2014).…”

“…This gradient is partly a consequence of the mountain chains acting as orographic barriers, impeding and disrupting air flow from the Pacific (Barr and Clark, 2011). During winter, cold, dry air is drawn from the Siberian High over central Siberia (Barr and Solomina, 2014). However, this is tempered by the development of a low pressure system over the Sea of Okhotsk, which sustains precipitation and elevates temperatures during winter (Velichko and Spasskaya, 2002).…”

“…The Kamchatka Peninsula is of particular interest because investigation of its recent glacial history has been limited (cf. Khromova et al, 2014;Earl and Gardner, 2016), despite being the largest glacierised area in NE Asia (Solomina et al, 2007) and a region where glaciers, climate and active volcanoes currently interact (Barr and Solomina, 2014).…”